Magnolia, NorthPort target 3-2 mark

The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots and NorthPort Batang Pier will try to finish the first round of the double-round eliminations of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup with a 3-2 slate when they face each other on Wednesday, September 4, 7:30 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The winner of the game will be over the 0.500 mark while the defeated team will have a record of 2-3 in Group A. The Hotshots and Batang Pier were grouped with TNT Tropang Giga, Meralco Bolts, Converge FiberXers and Terrafirma Dyip.

After the game, the two teams will be on their way to the 2nd round robin which will start on Saturday, when the Hotshots face the Bolts in Panabo City.

When the second round is over, the top four teams in each group will advance to the crossover quarter finals. The Group B is currently led by Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with 4-0 win-loss record.

Magnolia defeated Terrafirma in their last outing with a 124-103 convincing victory to have the momentum going to their final game of the 1st round while NorthPort failed to the hands of Meralco, 99-109 that’s why they are eager to bounce back and get back to the winning column.

The two teams will once again bank on their local crew who compliment well to their reinforcements.

In their last game, sweet-shooting Jerrick Ahanmisi led the Hotshots with his career-high 24 points including four 4-pointers and two 3-pointers.

On the other side, Arvin Tolentino also exploded for his career-high 51 points in the Batang Pier last win before being limited in their recent game.

Magnolia will continue to trust Glenn Robinson III as their import as he improved in his last game and continued to be consistent in producing the numbers needed for him in his first four games in the PBA, while ‘balik-import’ Venky Jois is expected to produce more for his squad.